South Korea Approves Project Hangang CBDC Expansion to 500,000 Wallets

Project Hangang is the Bank of Korea’s two-tier digital-currency test: the central bank supplies a blockchain-based wholesale CBDC for settlement, while commercial banks issue deposit tokens backed by customer deposits. The model keeps banks at the customer-facing layer rather than giving households direct central-bank accounts. Its expansion matters because Seoul is using its financial regulatory sandbox to test a bank-led digital won architecture while legislation under the proposed Digital Asset Basic Act remains delayed.

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission approved Phase 2 on July 15, 2026, with live transactions expected to begin as early as September. The pilot will expand from seven banks to nine, adding BNK Kyongnam Bank and iM Bank, while the cap on deposit-token wallets rises fivefold from 100,000 to 500,000. The wider trial will add transfers and broaden merchant use. In the same round, the FSC also designated foreign-visitor prepaid payment services and a joint-loan service from KakaoBank and Busan Bank as innovative financial services.